A Review Board has determined a Meeker Police officer did not use excessive force as he was attempting to take a driver into custody during an incident on Saturday night of Labor Day weekend.
Meeker Assistant Police Chief Scott Wilson, who chaired the Review Board meeting on Tuesday, said, “the board voted 4-1 in determining Officer Raymond Mackin was within the Police Department’s policy and procedures and CLEET standards on use of force.”
Wilson identified the driver of the vehicle pursued that night as Charlie Green, Meeker.
Wilson said those voting to clear Mackin of excessive force were himself, Drumwright Police Chief and CLEET certified defensive tactics instructor Brian Gooch, Lincoln County Sheriff Charlie Dougherty and Prague Police Officer John Fluitt.
CLEET stands for Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, which is a state agency.
The dissenting vote came from Meeker citizen David Adams, Wilson said.
Sitting in on the closed Review Board meeting were District Attorney Allan Grubb, Meeker Mayor Jeff Wilbourn and Meeker Town Clerk-Treasurer Mary Conner. Those three were non-voting, Wilson said.
Wilson stated that “DA Grubb has said he will not bring any charges against Mackin.”
The Review Board met at the Meek er Police Department on Tuesday for about 1½ hours, Wilson said.
Wilson had explained earlier the purpose of the Review Board. “All the board is looking for is did the officer act within our use of force policy or outside that policy. Once the board has made its decision, it’s turned over to Police Chief Trent Norton for final review and he makes the final decision,” Wilson emphasized.
He noted the board’s decision has already been turned over to Norton.
“The chief has already said he will abide by the board’s decision,” he said.
Wilson pointed out that Chief Gooch, who is a defensive tactics instructor “found Mackin was within CLEET standards and within our policy. As a member of the board, Gooch, like the others, reviewed all the video, statements and reports,” Wilson added.
The composition of the Review Board is set out in the policies and procedures of the Meeker Police Department. Wilson chaired the board because although Norton normally would, he recused him self since he was on the scene that evening.
Mackin will remain on administrative leave with pay until further notice, Wilson emphasized.
Wilson pointed out, “We’d like to bring in about 8 to 10 citizens in the future to meet to hear their suggestions and ideas to prevent further occurrences of such incidents. It would be like a small Town Hall meeting but held at the Police Department.”
Wilson has stated the incident began around 8:15 p.m. Saturday, Sep. 4, “when our dispatcher received a call about a reckless driver on SH 18.
“Our officer responded to the area and was almost hit headon by the vehicle. Our officer attempted to make a traffic stop and the vehicle did stop, but as soon as the officer got out of his car, the driver, since identified as Green, drove away westbound on Carl Hubbell (U.S. 62).
“A low speed pursuit began and the vehicle stopped again in front of city hall. As soon as the officer got out of his vehicle a second time, Green took off again,” Wilson noted.
The assistant chief said the vehicle went southbound on Culver and stopped for the third time, just south of Loy, but the vehicle took off again as the low speed pursuit continued.
“He failed to stop at Culver and Green, turning east on Green and continued east, failing to stop at Koonce and Green,” Wilson stated.
He said at that point Green’s vehicle ran partially off the road, continuing to the 100 block on Green where he pulled into a driveway.
“Once they stopped, the officer approached Green at gunpoint. The driver refused to exit the vehicle,” Wilson said.
“The officer holstered his pistol, opened the door and extracted Green from the vehicle. Green resisted the arrest, trying to push the officer off of him. At that point, the officer used a CLEET approved tactic to subdue him,” Wilson ex plained.
“Once he was in custody, the officer rolled Green over to get him on his feet and he noticed he was not breathing. First responders and EMS immediately were contacted and CPR began. The officer and a volunteer auxiliary officer performed CPR for 2 ½ -3 minutes and the suspect began breathing on his own,” Wilson said.
Wilson said then first responders and EMS arrived and they took Green to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Shawnee where he was treated and released that same evening.
Wilson said Green has not been charged with any offenses.